Picture rail

[fernicarry]

Is this moulding intended to be used as a picture rail?



So long as you keep tension on the hook it will stay in place just fine but worried about what could happen if someone bangs into the picture.

I though perhaps of using a small router to put a slot along the top for the hooks to sit into, but its sitting very close to horizontal so not sure that would do very much to improve the situation.

The picture rail in another room has a flat top to it and does seem to be stable enough but this one being a rounded profile seems a bit more sketchy.

 

[larry]

I made mine with a router, rounded edges at the front and a small 45 degree cut at the back for exactly this and works well with these sort of hooks. Not sure if that helps but I remember having the same puzzle !

 

[Stevers]

We have completely functional picture rails, but wouldn't dream of hanging a picture off them with all those hooks/wires/ribbons/strings showing.

Perhaps the square section one was intended to be purely decorative to border the drop. It's the sort of thing I did recently in a back bedroom with some lightly nailed half-round 'D' strip. This room has a dropped ceiling it would have needed to follow the line of the roof and a sloping picture rail would have looked odd.

 

[Cubist]

I don't like picture rails and nor am I fond of those dreadful hooks and don't get me started on getting my fat fingers to fix the eyes in a frame and then thread those with a cord or, God forbid, a wire and tie the knots.

When presented with this challenge I always resort to to couple of timber strips with an opposing 45degree mitres. These at least stop the perishing arguments about 'Is it level?' - maybe not, but it aint going anywhere else!

 

[fernicarry]

Thanks all, although I'm still not sure whether I'm courting disaster or not...

 

[a twig]

Why not run a test with a heavy picture which you don’t particularly like? Hang it then robustly buffet it from a few awkward angles and see what happens?

 

[Cubist]

I second A Twigs advice with only one proviso - only for pictures you don't like.

 

[fernicarry]

Two birds, one stone...